Concerns about meeting healthcare costs in retirement is now a pressing concern for more South Africans, Australians and Americans, according to a report from Smart Future.
Its Future of Global Retirement report surveyed around 2,000 respondents per region and found concerns around healthcare costs in retirement ranked highly across all three regions.
According to the report in the US, 58% of those polled in 2022 said they were worried about healthcare costs in retirement. This compared with 45% in 2021.
A similar number (57%) reported they were worried about day-to-day living costs in retirement in 2022 compared with 41% in 2021.
In Australia the cost of living in retirement was the most pressing concern – up to 60% among 2022 respondents from 45% in 2021.
However concerns about being able to afford healthcare in retirement also increased from 47% in 2021 to 49% in 2022.
In South Africa, while the report contained no comparison data for the year 2021, the biggest financial concerns for these respondents during retirement was being able to afford healthcare costs (68%) and day-to-day living costs (68%).
More South African women (70%) were concerned about these costs than men (64%).
And unsurprisingly the oldest age group was most concerned about healthcare costs in retirement, with 78% of over 55-year-olds polled concerned about these costs.
